the republicans have offered substantial -- boehner has offered substantial tax increase, $800 billion, actually, but he believes it can be done by closing loopholes without raising the rates, which would be better for the economy. i don't believe we need to raise taxes. we can bring this government under control through spending reductions. certainly, if taxes are raised, they should be done in a way that's most beneficial or least damaging to the viability of our economy. >> yeah. i got to tell you, after listening to that interview, i feel pretty confident that we're going over the cliff. are we going to go over the cliff, senator? >> we should not go over the cliff. we should have been working on this all year, not waiting until the last minute. the reason we're not making progress, let me tell you -- and i've been consistent on this. they're bringing these numbers up in secret. if they were laid out in public so the american people knew just how much taxes they were increasing, just how little spending reductions -- or how much increases in spending. as a political mover, very eff